Unusual USMC 1st Recon BN patch

[Bob Hudson]

This came in a batch of cutedge Marine patches, mostly divisions.

 

I have looked at literally hundreds of 1st Recon patches online and none of them match this. Typically the diamond shape of these patches is very apparent, like these

 

 

But the diamond on this twill patch is kind of hidden.

 

 

 

:

 

 

[doyler]

to me it looks unfinished. the extra material hasnt been trimmed away from the diamond

[vintageproductions]

Unfinished and hasn't been trimmed.

[Bob Hudson]

24 minutes ago, vintageproductions said:

Unfinished and hasn't been trimmed.

 

Is that common? Did the factory fire the finishers?

[Tonomachi]

I collect these types of patches and like yourself I have viewed hundreds of them on line to try and determine which ones are genuine.  The vast majority are copies of course and your piece although unfinish could be genuine you just never know.  These are like the the Seal Team morale patches out there where unless you get them from the veteran himself you can never be sure that they are genuine.  This is why collectors should be very careful about spending a great deal of money on one of these patches as back in the early 1980s there was an insignia company called Lancers Militaria that produced copies of the USMC 1st and 2nd Recon Battalion patches that they sold through their mail order catalog.  They are very convincing especially now that they have some age to them being produced some 40 years ago.  Below are two that I'm not sure about and at least one is probably a Lancer Militaria copy.   The third one I believe is genuine. 

 

Since we are on the subject of USMC élite unit patches I was surprised at the amount of money collectors are paying for MARSOC patches or at least this one patch I came across on eBay recently.  This current MARSOC patch (see link) sold for $163.50.  Like the USMC Recon Battalion patches there are so many different ones out there that you really can't tell what is genuine and what is a copy.  Even though this patch was supposedly manufactured in Afghanistan I wouldn't pay this kind of money for this type of patch unless I got it from the veteran himself as again you will never really know for sure if it is genuine.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284387471250?mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5335821211&customid=&toolid=10001&nma=true&si=ycUJ6406pDZX1msy4Hbp9%2B7cBJY%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

 

 

[doyler]

1 hour ago, Bob Hudson said:

 

Is that common? Did the factory fire the finishers?

 

just a slow day at the office. Patch collectors call these errors. Forrest Gump says Sh*t Happens.